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Golf, Ian Kelsey ’18 shine at Ivy Champs
On the weekend of April 22 to 24, Dartmouth men’s golf finished four strokes back of Harvard University at the Ivy League Men’s Championship behind a strong performance by Ian Kelsey ’18. Kelsey, who was named First-Team All Ivy, finished as the second-best individual performer and just one stroke behind first place, showing one of the best finishes in school history.
The team was ranked fourth in the Ivy League before exceeding expectations and finishing second at the Championships.
Harvard shot a sparkling first round, but Dartmouth kept pace in the second and tied for the best round three score with 301. Four other Dartmouth golfers contributed to the team’s success. Charles Cai ’16 finished in ninth in the final golf competition of his Dartmouth career, Scott Jaster ’17 tied for 14th, John Lazor ’19 was close behind at 17th and Sean Fahey ’17 wrapped up the team’s performances tied for 34th.
The team returns a strong core, including underclassmen Kelsey and Lazor, for next season.
Football’s three-way tie for first place
With a thrilling 17-10 victory against Princeton University in its final game of the season on Nov. 21, Dartmouth clinched a share of the Ivy League football championship. With 24 seconds left in the game, Kyle Bramble ’16 caught a screen from Dalyn Williams ’16 and found his way to the end zone from 12 yards out. The Tigers were leading with just five minutes remaining in the game. A Dartmouth drive stalled and the Big Green settled for a 22-yard field goal from Alex Gakenheimer ’17 to tie the game.
The Big Green defense got a critical interception from David Caldwell ’16, but the ensuing Dartmouth drive ended in a 39-yard field goal missed wide right. The defense came through again to force a three-and-out, giving Williams and the rest of the offense two minutes to drive down the field from its own 37-yard line, 29 yards receiving from Ryan McManus ’15, and a critical fumble recovery by Bramble kept the drive alive, leading to the deciding touchdown.
The title was the Big Green’s first since 1996.
Undefeated Ivy 15s season for rugby
After officially becoming a varsity team in June 2015, the women’s rugby team moved swiftly to go undefeated against Ivy League opponents in the regular 15s season last fall. The team, hosting the Ivy Championship tournament, played the Princeton University Tigers in the semifinals, handily defeating Princeton with some of its best play of the year, resulting in a 44-5 win.
The Big Green took the field for the Ivy Championship against Brown University, setting the stage for a rematch of last year’s championship game during which the Bears put down the Big Green for the second time that season, taking the crown after handing Dartmouth a 42-5 beating. This past fall, the Big Green entered halftime against Brown trailing 12-0.
Rallying after the break, Dartmouth put up 19 unanswered points to send Brown home with its second loss against the Big Green this season. Audrey Perez ’17 put the gamewinner over the try line after senior co-captains Yejadai Dunn ’16 and Tatjana Toeldte ’16 knotted the score. Dunn will compete in the USA Eagles player pool this summer.
Soccer repeats at Ivy Championship
Men’s soccer clinched its second consecutive Ivy League title with a 2-0 victory against Cornell Unviersity at home on Nov. 7. Goals from two seniors paced the Big Green to an easy victory. In the 31st minute, midfielder Alberto Gorini ’16 scored his first goal of the season.
Captain Eric Jayne ’15 netted his second to give the Big Green some breathing room in the 56th minute. While two upperclassmen were the difference makers in this game, two freshmen, Amadu Kunateh ’19 and Eduvie Ikoba ’19, led the team in goals at four each.
The Big Green wrecked havoc on the Ivy League all year, picking up just one loss against Brown University in its final conference game of the season after already clinching the title beforehand. The team defeated Hartwick College 1-0 in overtime to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. There, the Big Green fell to No. 6 Syracuse University 2-1 despite taking the lead in the 29th minute behind Justin Donawa ’19’s second goal of the season.
Squash’s historic wins over Ivy foes
Men’s squash picked up two historic victories this past season by defeating Harvard University 5-4 for its first victory over the Crimson in nearly 70 years on Dec. 1 and then toppling Princeton University 8-1 on Jan. 9 for the Big Green’s first win over the Tigers since Ivy League play began in the 1956-57 season.
The victories propelled the team to a 9-4 regular season record and a No. 7 ranking, qualifying the Big Green for the College Squash Association National Team Championship. There, the team lost to Yale University and Harvard before toppling Columbia University.
Nonetheless, the team exceeded expectations in part due to strong performances by its freshmen. Carson Spahr ’19 won the Rookie of the Year award for the Ivy League and Matt Giegerich ’19, a freshman, was named the team’s Most Valuable Player. Head coach Hansi Wiens picked up the Coach of the Year award, and Alvin Heumann ’18, the team’s No. 1 spot player, was named First Team All-Ivy and the Big Green’s most improved player..
